A balanced diet and exercise are staples of a healthy lifestyle.

But you might be sabotaging your health or your weight loss plans if you are eating these 10 unhealthy foods. 

stacked white toast bread

1.WHITE BREAD:

Bread is a source of carbohydrates, and you need carbohydrates in your body as they are a vital energy source for your everyday activities. However, white bread is not a good choice as a carbohydrate. This is because white bread (especially the pre-sliced packaged variety) is highly processed. They are made from highly processed grains.

Once you eat them it makes your blood sugars go up after eating. Repeated blood sugar spikes long term can cause damage to your blood vessels, organs and nerves making you more susceptible for type 2 diabetes. Once you have eaten white bread there is a drop in sugar and you once again will crave food. This is because white bread lacks fiber which, when part of your diet not only reduces blood sugar spikes when eating a high carbohydrate meal, they feed your “good” gut bacteria.

Fiber has other benefits as well such as reducing your appetite, lowering your cholesterol and some fermentable fiber can nourish the colon wall in the form of short chain fatty acids.

The bottom line is if your diet contains white bread on a daily basis you are at a higher risk for chronic heart disease, diabetes and chronic conditions related to poor life style choices.

a bowl full of thinly sliced fries

2.French fries

 I think this does not come as a surprise for you.

Has this happened to you?

You start munching and then sooner or later you realize that you have eaten more than half the fries in a sing sitting.

Then, the guilt sets in and you decide that tomorrow is the day you will start with your diet and that you consider this indulgence as a reward.

When oils are heated at very high temperatures, they undergo a  chemical change in the fats called hydrogenation. This change in  the chemical structure of fats makes it difficult for your body to break down these fats. Fries are heavy in trans fats. These fats can raise your bad cholesterol called LDL.As a result  you are at an increased risk for a stroke, obesity, diabetes or a heart disease. When fries are eaten excessively they are high in calories and make you gain weight. Also fried foods may contain acrylamide. These are potentially carcinogenic substances having caused cancer in animals in studies when exposed to this substance in high doses.

In 2010, the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) concluded that acrylamide is a human health concern and suggested additional long-term studies. FDA experts participated in the evaluation and provided data from new research studies on acrylamide risk.

pizza with cheese and tomatoes and ham

3.Pizzas

Pizzas have become a staple of our food culture. They are a comfort food where a slice or 2 can be so filling. Stay away from commercially available frozen pizzas or even fast-food pizza. They are high in salts, calories, and unhealthy fats. Some even contain high fructose corn syrup, artificial colorings and MSG.

MSG stands for monosodium glutamate and when consumed in larger amounts can cause symptoms such as headache, weakness, numbness, tingling, soreness of your muscles, weakness and flushing.

Now Pizzas made traditionally from scratch with traditional ingredients such as oil, tomatoes, tomato sauce, flour & fresh cheese can be healthy.

sausage, salami ham on a platter

4.Processed meat:

 Examples of processed meat are salami, deli meat, canned meat, hot dogs, dried meat such as beef jerky or sausages. These types of meats are associated with a higher risk of cancers and cardiovascular disease. They have been also associated with high blood pressure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. When you fry bacon or sausages at high temperatures nitrosamines are formed. These compounds may increase the risk of bowel and stomach cancer.

Processed meats are also high in sodium chloride(salt) which can cause health problems when eaten consistently and excessively.

5.Sugary drinks:

Sugary drinks are beverages which have added sweeteners or sugar. These are drinks which have  fruit juice concentrates, and high fructose corn syrup.

Here are some examples of sugary drinks : soda, pop, fruit punch, lemonade, sports drinks, and energy drinks.

How much sugar can you find in a soda can?

A single teaspoon contains about 4.2g of sugar. Imagine 7-10 teaspoons in that can of soda. Can’t be good for you, right. Sugars can be metabolized in every cell of your body, but fructose can only be metabolized in your liver.

If you drink excessive fructose in the form of drinks consistently this becomes fat in your liver. Excessive sugar also contributes to belly fat. Excessive belly fat is linked with heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Drinking sugary drinks regularly can be habit forming which has negative effects on your brain reward system leading to a pattern similar to addiction.

You might ask yourself what about 100% fruit juices: 100% fruit juices contain only natural sugars. Fruit juice is rich in vitamins and  minerals that soda or pop lacks. If you drink small amounts( about 150ml or 5 ounces daily) of juice regularly this has been linked to a variety of health benefits.

 

two bars of rectangular chocolate

6.Candy bars

Candy bars are just bad for you. They are high in sugars, calories, and processed fat and have no nutritional value. They can be seen as larger sugar bombs causing sugar spikes. I don’t have to rehash why sugar spikes are unhealthy. If you eat candy bars regularly you will gain weight and your waistline won’t thank you.

7.Ice cream:

Ice cream is loaded with sugar.

Half a cup of ice cream can contain between 12-24g of sugar. The AHA( American Heart association) suggests an added-sugar limit of no more than 100 calories per day (about 6 teaspoons or 24 grams of sugar) for most women and no more than 150 calories per day (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams of sugar) for most men.

Most ice creams are highly processed with additives and artificial flavors.Excessive intake of sugars can lead to heart disease, diabetes, obesity and fatty liver disease.

8.Cakes, cookies and pastries:

Many cakes, pastries and cookies are not only high in sugar, but also high in fat. Cheaper baked goods are often made with corn syrup. These treats are not only high in calories but have no essential nutritional value and are packaged with preservatives. Not to mention frosting…that’s just bad news for your body.

sliced cheese on a wooden platter

9.Processed cheese:

Processed cheese is not real cheese at all. It is about 50% cheese and then other ingredients which are not really cheese. This can be artificial ingredients, emulsifiers, salts, coloring, preservatives.

These items I just mentioned are added to the melted pasteurized cheese. What you get is what you see in your supermarkets in the form of slices, solids, sauces or even sprays. These ingredients are added to increase the shelf life of cheese. If choosing this kind of cheese go for the one with fewer artificial ingredients and that contains dairy… so read the labels.

2 people drinking coffee on a table
coffee

10.Coffee drinks high in calories:

The problem nowadays is that everybody adds all kinds of ingredients into their coffee. Sugars, sweeteners, syrups and creamers. All of these have no additional nutritional benefits and what would be considered as unhealthy calories. If you drink one of these daily when going to work or even at home, you will gain weight and in the long run contribute to chronic health conditions which you don’t want to deal with in old age.

According to this study In JAMA regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (≥7 servings/wk) was associated with increased risk of CVD mortality. The World Health Organization recommended less than 10% of calories from added sugar based on its assessment of higher consumption and adverse health outcomes.4

 Now just to highlight the dangers of higher than normal sugar consumption.If your diet consists of sugar consumption between 10-25% of calories you are at 30% higher risk of cardiovascular mortality. If your dietary consumption of added sugar is higher than 25% the relative risk I mentioned below tripled.

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